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Obama as executive-in-chief

President Obama needs to don the hat of chief executive of a federal workforce of 2.1 million people. |
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By MAX STIER |
10/29/10 4:34 AM EDT

President Barack Obama has worn many hats these last two years — including commander in chief, presiding over two wars; and legislator in chief, in his many battles with Congress.

As he regroups after the mid-terms for a likely altered political landscape, Obama should now embrace the role of executive in chief. He needs to don the hat of chief executive of a federal workforce of 2.1 million people, placing new emphasis on improving the effectiveness of federal programs.

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POLITICO 44

Most presidents and their political appointees would certainly prefer to focus on policy, not operations. Generally, there is no payoff for worrying about management details, and no penalty for ignoring them.

But ask President George W. Bush about the effect of having an incompetent Federal Emergency Management Agency during Hurricane Katrina, or lax operations at the Securities and Exchange Commission, which contributed to the economic meltdown. Obama only has to reflect on the disastrous Gulf oil spill and the poor management of the Minerals Management Service.

Such missteps, and there have been many over the years — from Medicare fraud to lapses in food and drug safety oversight — are one reason people are so skeptical about government, and why that skepticism undermines Washington's ability to solve many problems. Recent polls show that the majority of Americans want government to deal with a wide range of pressing issues — but do not have faith in its competence to get things right.

Obama signaled last month that he understands the importance of well-managed government, “When government does not work like it should,” Obama wrote in a memo to federal career executives, “it has a real effect on people’s lives — on small business owners who need loans, on young people who want to go to college, on men and women in our Armed Forces who need the best resources when in uniform and deserve the benefits they have earned after they have left.”

The Office of Management and Budget, led by chief performance officer Jeffrey Zients, has been working to establish agency performance goals, increase accountability and improve government operations. Despite these laudable efforts, there is little sense that these are administration priorities, or that the president is providing the kind of leadership required in this area. His initiatives have not been communicated clearly to the public or the civil service.

Readers' Comments (20)

Obama is done in 2012. The majority of Americans want him FIRED (http://www.drudgereport.com). He has surrounded himself with clowns and buffoons (Fibber me Gibbers and Nimrod the spin doctor) . The people like Obama as a person but do not like what he has done to OUR Country. Generations of Debt, perpetual unemployment and unemployment benefits for perpetuity. Then he shoved a Stimulus package down our throats for shovel ready jobs that never materalized, instead that money went to save UNION JOBS, Teachers, Firefighters, Police, Auto Workers and then he bailed out the States who saved their UNION jobs. So what he did was bought Union votes with the taxpayers money and sent us the Bill, Generations of debt. He didn't even fight for a public Option on healthcare that would have lowered the costs for the rest of us. He sold out the American people to the insurance companies. No Obozo has FAILED this Country Miserably. The only hope we have now is to pull the rug out from under Obama and the Democrats next week and stop their agenda in it's tracks., repeal as much as we can and then kick him to the curb in 2012. Better days ahead after that. The nightmare is almost over !

Obama should now embrace the role of executive in chief. He needs to don the hat of chief executive of a federal workforce of 2.1 million people

No...this is not from the ONION, lol!! The only thing missing in this photo is the dunce cap!

The thought of Obama presiding over anything more than an executive meeting of ACORN is ludicrous! I'm still reeling over his disastrous performance on the Daily Show when he told Stewart that Summers was doing a 'heck of a job'. When Stewart raised his eyebrows a few seconds later, Obama realized what he said and actually LIED and said "Pun intended'! It might seem like a non-event, but it's not...it's a measure of the man; and the fact is - Obama is a smarmy low-life with no core principles or morals. He's a scary 'dude' and the country is in mortal danger! The damage he can do between now and 2012 is incalcuable!

Kudos to Jon Stewart for exposing the imposter in the Oval Office!

Or thereabouts (I'm not counting those standing up, they are mostly advisors, handlers and security.those in the meeting are sitting)

I thought presidents were supposed to work in the Oval Office in the White House, or on Air Force One or at Camp David. With President Obama, he's perpetually on the campaign trail, when not golfing, or appearing unpresidential on the Comedy Channel, CNN or MSNBC. When does he have time to do anything, or does he leave all the details to his ideologically Left-wing Liberal Democratic advisors, or his myriad Liberal appointees and political allies? He is a deeply flawed man who needs to learn to moderate sharply to the right, so he will be seen as "mainstream". My prediction is that he will not be reelected in 2012. But just in case, the Democrats have just filed Freedom of Information Requests with the military to dig-up possible "dirt" to use against potential Republican presidential candidates in 2012. Isn't this a continuation of politics as usual in Washington, something Obama promised he would change, and also an act of desperation on the part of the Democrats?

It is now clear to the vast majority of Americans that this president does not have a clue how to be an effective executive. And the reason, he has never held an executive position in his entire life, and therefore, has never learned the the administrative skills required to deal with a large bureaucratic organization...and the US Government just happens to be the largest organization of that type that now exists on the face of our planet.

And it seems the even worse news is that he has no interest in acquiring these skills. None of this should have been unexpected of a man whose experience in life has been as a community organizer, academic, ex-lawyer and back bench politician.

Just for a second put aside Obama's extreme Liberal philosophy that is out of the mainstream of American thought and opinion ......... Obama is not seen by the majority of Amercans as the nations Chief Executive. Instead, he's seen as a highly partisan "campaigner in chief" for Liberal Democrats.

Obama has NEVER held even a lowly executive position in either the private or public sector; nor has he ever worked in the private-for-pay sector of the American economy, he's never run or managed a business, been a big-city Mayor or the Governor of a state. The FIRST and ONLY executive position he's ever held in his entire life, was his over-the-top media-assisted election to be the nations Chief Executive.

So, along with the fact his political philosophy is shared by only 20% of Americans and the fact that not only is he not qualified to be the nations Chief Executive, he's surrounded himself with people who's only experience is in the Liberal out-of-touch academic world (not the business world) and its no wonder he will be thoroughly rejected at the polls on Tuesday.

Heck, even the so-called MSM is "starting" to slowly question his competence.

You can't use effective and the Federal Government in the same sentence unless you also use the word "ISN'T".

A perfect example is ObamaCare. It was going to save us money, wouldn't ration care, and wouldn't cover abortions...We now find out it's going to cost us AT LEAST $100 billion per year beginning in 2015....Effective?

Obama is less of an executive in chief than a dude in chief or maybe a kiddo in chief. This larger than life campaigner has turned out to be a small person on the world stage, even smaller as a leader.

I have tried hard to accept this man as the Commander in Chief but I cannot hide the ruth, I do not trust him, his views or whatever involves him. I am not even sure he is actually truthfully our President, I do not believe to this day that Hussein Obama is the legitimate President of the United States or can anyone tell why he has never produced an original birh certificate? He has spent a fortune to avoid showing the document why is that if he was really born in Hawaii?

How could I believe this man to be American and love our country when wherever he goes he attacks our USA and apologizes to every foreigner for what we did? America has done more for the world than any country has ever done, Obama is to me an American hater, a traitor. He is not the leader of the United States but simpler the speaker of the Arab World, the speaker for the muslims within our borders trying to destroy us.

We have no Commander in Chief, I know people who wanted change, different policies from those practiced by George W. Bush, today these same people reversed their thinking and say openly they were duped by Hussein Obama and his message. They now tell me that President Bush was a real leader, a real American. The Dems have betrayed the Nation, it will take years for the damage to repaired at all levels, political, diplomatically and especially the economy and the national debt.

Hopefully Americans will wake up and will not re-elect that loser Muslim who would like us to believe he is an American.

Actually, this is a good idea. It would serve the country well - save us tax dollars if we don't have to pay for porn users on the job - and it would mean Obama's not thinking up a new program agenda to visit more legislative terror on his people.

Most government entities hire people full-time for jobs that are part-time. I'm not including endless luncheon meetings, time spent on illicit affairs and hours spent looking busy.That's extra and probably does add up to a full work day.